Refer to Case Study 4-1: Diagnosing the Causes of Poor Performance for questions

Question

Refer to Case Study 4-1: Diagnosing the Causes of Poor Performance for questions 1 and 2. heather works in the training department of a large information technology IT organization. she is in charge of designing and delivering interpersonal skills training . includeing communication skills networking. and new manager training classes. heather has excellent knowledge of how to desing a training class, she incorportates behavioral modeling and practice into all of her classes. she has also conducted research on what good communication consists of . how to network and what new managers need to know to be successful. however, individuals who attend heathers training classes often give her low rating , stating that she has a hard time answering specific questions in classes and that she does not seem approachable after the classes when individuals want to ask questions

1. You are Heather’s manager. In your opinion, what is causing Heather’s poor performance? Is it due to a deficiency in declarative knowledge or procedural knowledge?

2. What can be done to remedy the performance problem?

Explanation / Answer

Let me give you some key points basis my understanding of the information you have provided in the question. If there is a case linked to this that has not been posted here, you can draw in information from there to augment this answer.

1. In my opinion, while Heather has good knowledge about designing and delivering a training session, she does not seem confident to answer questions in front of managers. It must be noted that managers come in with prior experience, and their question levels might be different compared to a graduate fresh out of college. They might ask certain tricky questions, or sometimes just to show that they are more experienced and they know a lot more than the trainer out there. In such scenarios, it might very well be possible that Heather is not able to sustain her answers to the target audience. What this leads to is, she is probably not confident enough to handle queries post her classes.

2. To remedy the problem, I would take a two pronged approach. First, appreciate the way she delivers the training. Appreciate her knowledge on the subject. Appreciate the efforts she takes to arrange each and every training. Appreciation of a person's strengths does a great deal to boost an employee's morale. Next, discuss her issues one to one. An individual who feels recognised for the work done will be a lot more transparent in opening up and discussing issues. See where Heather needs help. Give Heather full freedom to be confident and do what is right. Make her believe that she already has it in her to answer any kind of questions. It is fine if a couple of them go wrong here and there. But give her the confidence and empower her. This will make a lot of difference to the way she will be approaching these trainings in future.

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